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WIPR
Implementers praise German patent reforms
Implementers have welcomed reforms to Germany’s laws which weaken patent owners’ right to an injunction if successful in litigation, but their impact on case law remains to be seen. “This principle is a basic tenet of German legal philosophy, meaning any sanction must be proportionate to the offence committed. But patent law was essentially exempt from that,” Ludwig von Reiche,IP2Innovate's board member, told WIPR. “We expect courts to have to consider it if it is pleaded. It will most likely be pleaded in many cases and case law needs to be established,” added von Reiche.
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Other press coverage
Patrick Oliver
New report: Europe faces a growing problem of firms abusing the patent system for financial gain
A published today gives unique insight into how some non-practising entities (NPEs), also known as patent asserting entities (PAEs) or patent trolls, game Europe’s patent system. The report also provides further evidence that the problem of patent trolls is migrating to Europe from the US, and it proposes several policy responses to address the problem.
lesechos.fr
Guerre des brevets : la lettre de grands groupes mondiaux à Thierry Breton.
A hundred companies including Apple, Adidas, Microsoft, Sanofi and Volkswagen wrote on Wednesday to European Commissioner Thierry Breton, asking him to pull the rug out from under “patent trolls” feet, groups whose sole activity is the massive purchase of patents for prosecution purposes.
Financial Times
Apple, Microsoft and BMW urge EU to stop patent trolls.
Apple, Microsoft and BMW, together with a broad group of other tech companies and carmakers, have called on the EU to take action against so-called patent trolls, who buy up patents in the hope of making a profit through licences or lawsuits.